6mm-Minis

6mm-Minis is Maksim-Smelchak's blog to discuss gaming, miniatures, books, movies, food, Israel, Judaism, life in general and other funny crud. My favorite scale of miniatures is 6mm, which is also called 1/285 or 1/300 scale. I enjoy many different kinds of games including ancients, Napoleonics, WWI, WWII, the Arab-Israeli conflict, Car Wars AKA Autoduel (a sort of crash'n'derby automobile combat game), 6mm Godzilla AKA Kaiju games, and science fiction games. I'm open to everything though!

Sunday, September 30, 2007

NOVELS: "World War Z" & Tripod's "Stockpiling Weaponry!"

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Hi All,

Before I share my brief review of the New York Times zombie best seller "World War Z" by Max Brooks, I'm going to share a far more entertaining Tripod music video / comedy skit. This Tripod skit nearly captures in roughly a minute and a half what all 342 pages of "World War Z" does. And the message boils down as thus:

1. Evil "NeoCons" have crippled the world, which makes us vulnerable to zombie invasion.

2. True "hippie-like progressives" can save the world with a proper Socialist ordering to society, multiculturalism, and a new nation-state in Israel called United Palestine... once all of the "NeoCons" have all been eaten by zombies...

3. War is bad and evil... unless dictators or Socialists start them.

4. Americans suck, white people suck, Christians suck... unless they are "multicultural progressives" who can denounce the troika of Western evil: whiteness, American "cowboy" capitalism, and the Judeo-Christian underpinnings of American Christianity.

5. The US military are a bunch of wasted, violent morons. All of them suffer from post traumatic battle syndrome, Vietnam flashbacks, or brush war jingoism.

6. And, oh yeah, Jews suck, but the only the religious and/or Zionist ones who don't want to be a part of "United Palestine."

7. And last but not least, the most important point:

"Bush sucks!"

"And is singlehandedly the cause......of ALL of the world's problems"

Well, maybe the Tripod song doesn't say all that, but I wanted something funny to share in an otherwise depressing book review. And unfortunately, the book isn't much more subtle than the seven points I've outlined above. Max Brooks had a political axe to grind when he wrote this book and while he avoids naming names, it's very clear what "lessons" he wanted to shove down our throats while making a quick buck off the zombie fad. Seriously, I bet they'll make a translation of this book mandatory reading at political reeducation AKA indoctrination camps in Communist China... it's just about that bad.

If you're a big fan of blaming America and its Presidents as the "root cause" of all evil in the world, or at least most of it... this book will probably be your cup of tea. If not, it will take so much effort to wade through the tripe that you'll probably quit reading the book long before you reach the end of it. I found it tiring after about page fifty... I've read mathematics text books that were less tiresome.

My one big compliment for Max Brooks is that he did some good research albeit through his "rose-coloured political glasses." The references to other nations and places capture a snapshot of those places that "feels right," even when he often gets them wrong. As I mentioned, he often mentions lots of foreign-language terms without ever really getting it right. I can't speak to all the places he mentions, but I can speak to many of the places I have lived or been such as his mention of the "ship yards" where old freighters are taken to be recycled into metal scrap. I think Max Brooks may have mistaken India for Pakistan, which is where most ships go to be broken down to recycled scrap. Small point, but it's symptomatic of most of the novel: "feels right," but is subtly off. Max Brook's zombies though are spot on and very consistently imagineered throughout the novel. He spent some time well creating his zombies, physical characteristics, behavior patterns, and all. Congratulations AKA Mazel Tov to him on that point... if only there were more.

And, probably the other major theme of the book, after anti-Americanism, is PESSIMISM. In Max Brook's apocalyptic fantasy, no one can get anything right until they begin to see the light of Socialism and new the "new societal ordering" that has, in reality, failed in every society that it has ever been tried in from the failed Communist States of the former USSR, to Red China, to Pol Pot's Cambodia, Mugabwe's tragedy of Zimbabwe, to Communist Vietnam, the gulags of North Korea, the prison state of Cuba, to the Bathist regimes in the Middle East and beyond. In the book, every kind of theme or meme whining about the shortcomings of Western society are trumpeted to the heavens: fundamentalist Christians, NRA "gun nuts," lazy Western white collar workers AKA management, NeoCons, a violent, corrupt military without enough ammo or common sense to "fight smart," and a whole laundry list of people and groups that "progressives" like Max Brooks blame for the ills of the world. Expect that theme to be repeated ad nauseum or maybe to put it a little more aptly: ad zombium.

OK. I've ranted enough...

The bottom line is that the book is mildly entertaining if you can get past the political messages that Max Brooks so obviously wants you to take away from this book.

Notes regarding photos / pictures / videos: These are not all my images and videos. I am using various images and videos from around the web, mostly from public sources and/or private sources used with permission. I have tried to include only images and videos under public domain, creative commons, or fair use. If I have inadvertently violated any copyrights, please inform me and I will remove your image/s (if it is indeed an infringement).

Friday, September 28, 2007

FUN VIDEOS: "Blue milk, anyone?"

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Hi All,

I'm still very much overhwhelmed at and away from my job, but I did manage to get a little gaming in with some buds Wednesday evening. Vynnie, Mikos, George and I got together "to shoot the bull" and played a short board game of ZOMBIES!. Mikos just bought a copy and wanted to give it a spin...

And here's a short Star Wars video that I recently enjoyed. I find it exceptionally difficult to NOT root for the Empire at times... Blue milk, anyone?

Have a great Friday!

Shalom,Maksim-Smelchak.

Notes regarding photos / pictures / videos: These are not all my images and videos. I am using various images and videos from around the web, mostly from public sources and/or private sources used with permission. I have tried to include only images and videos under public domain, creative commons, or fair use. If I have inadvertently violated any copyrights, please inform me and I will remove your image/s (if it is indeed an infringement).

Notes regarding photos / pictures / videos: These are not all my images and videos. I am using various images and videos from around the web, mostly from public sources and/or private sources used with permission. I have tried to include only images and videos under public domain, creative commons, or fair use. If I have inadvertently violated any copyrights, please inform me and I will remove your image/s (if it is indeed an infringement).

Tuesday, September 25, 2007

HUMOUR: "Inner Peace?"

TOP: A fattening, lardball snack that I love with a big glass of milk, but...

...am afraid of consuming for fear I will waste my waist.

Maybe I should indulge a little? I wonder if there are Oreos in Heaven?

Hi All,

I've been having a rough week or two at work and haven't had the time to blog or game as much as I'd like to... which is what makes a gem of a funny joke E-mail that much more enjoyable. I hope you enjoy the below gem as much as I did:

INNER PEACE!

I am passing this on to you because it definitely worked for me, and we all could use more calm in our lives.

By following the simple advice I heard on a Dr. Phil show, I have finally found "innerpeace."Dr. Phil proclaimed the way to achieve "inner peace" was to finish all the things you have started. So I looked around my house to see things I started and hadn't finished; and before leaving the house this morning I finished a bottle of Merlot, a bottle of White Zinfandel, a bottle of Baileys, a bottle of Kahlua, a package of Oreos, the remainder of the Valium prescriptions, the rest of the cheesecake, a bag of Doritos and a box of chocolates.

You have no idea how freaking good I feel!

Please pass this on to those you feel are in need of "inner peace."

Seems like good advice, huh?

Thanks, Stephen!

Have a great Tuesday!

Shalom,Maksim-Smelchak.

Notes regarding photos / pictures / videos: These are not all my images and videos. I am using various images and videos from around the web, mostly from public sources and/or private sources used with permission. I have tried to include only images and videos under public domain, creative commons, or fair use. If I have inadvertently violated any copyrights, please inform me and I will remove your image/s (if it is indeed an infringement).

Monday, September 24, 2007

NOVELS: "Gregor The Overlander!"

.TOP: Suzanne Collins with a rat in Central Park.

Hi All,

I've always loved children's literature, from the simplest fairy tales to the epic yarns of Westerns, murder mysteries., fantasy and science fiction. My mother taught me from a young age to love reading and brought us by the library on a weekly basis if not more often. I remember knowing the librarian for first name (...her insistence and a luxury that few of the local neighborhood children were granted) and she knew mine. I remember many a fond time talking to her about books after school and having her guide me through the library until I started taking more books out of the adult section than the children's one. My parents also set an example for my sister and I in that they read quite often themselves. I have many fond memories of contentedly enjoying a good book in the peace and quiet of my childhood bedroom.

Some of the great books I remember from my childhood include:The Hobbit & The Lord of the Rings series by: J.R.R. Tolkien.The Narnia & The Space Trilogy series by: C.S. Lewis.The Prydain series by: Lloyd Alexander.The Wonderful Wizard of Oz series by: L. Frank Baum.

And the book most associated with younger generations has been:Harry Potter by: J.K. Rowling

I have a few reservations about Harry Potter, but that could just be a generational thing... However, what I most appreciate about Harry Potter is that it's motivated a large number of children to read and pick up an interest in fantasy, a genre which I always felt as a teacher encouraged imagination, something in very short supply among the later generations that take video games, movie tie-in merchandise, and movie adaptations of books for granted. I've found it very common to speak with children these days who would rather watch the movie than read the book, which is 99.9% of the time, superior to the superficial movie scripts that get put out so often by Hollywood these days.Simply put, books lend themselves much better to a full, rich story that a movie can rarely match. However, movies are easier and don't require the vocabulary, time, and, most importantly, imagination that a simple viewing of a movie require.

A new series that I think bodes well for the newer generations is the "Gregor the Overlander" book series by Suzanne Collins. It's children literature at its' best with well developed, rich, believable characters in an interesting, fantasy environment. I was riveted to the pages of the novels for five books running and read them over the period of about a week and a half. Good stuff!

In this book, the reader is introduced to all of the main characters of the series including Gregor, a poor eleven-year-old boy from New York City, and his family including his precocious two-year-old sister, Boots. While doing laundry in his basement, he and his sister fall through a basement grate and find themselves in the world of the Underland, a place settled centuries earlier by Bartholomew of Sandwich, a noblemen formerly from Britain. Bartholomew of Sandwich escaped Britain to form a kingdom called Regalia under the streets and sewers of New York City, but simply settling the vast underground wasn't so easy a task as the Underland was already populated by a number of intelligent species that are far-off distant cousins to their relatives in the Overworld, giant speaking bats, massive cunning rats, tribal cockroaches and many more societies. Gregor discovers that Bartholomew of Sandwich left behind a number of riddle-like prophecies of which he is named. Gregor finds himself prisoner of the Regalians until he can fulfill the prophecy...

GREGOR AND THE PROPHECY OF BANE:BOOK TWO IN THE UNDERLAND CHRONICLES

Gregor's previous adventures have earned him a place of respect and honor among the Regalians, who now have established a communication system between Gregor while he lives in the Overland and themselves in the Underland. Gregor's family struggles and his father falls ill and loses his job when a summons comes from Regalia. Gregor answers the summons and begins to train among the Regalians to become "The Warrior" his prophetic role in the prophecies of the half-mad riddle-prophecies of Bartholomew of Sandwich. After training for a bit, Gregor discovers that the rat kingdoms, the principal rivals of the humans of Regalia, are stirring and a rat prophecy has arisen that a rat deliverer has risen, a rat simply known as "The Bane"... Gregor sets off on a quest to find "The Bane," earn his title as "The Warrior," and hopefully avert war between the rats and Regalians... and it doesn't help when Gregor's father is taken captive by the rats...

GREGOR AND THE CURSE OF THE WARMBLOODS:BOOK THREE IN THE UNDERLAND CHRONICLES

Another prophecy brings Gregor back to the Underland as Gregor finds the Rat King is again scheming to bring war to the Underland. A food shortage and a mysterious plague complicate the unrest among the kingdoms of the Underland as species becomes pitted again each other. Gregor sets off on a quest to find a cure for the plague and make peace among the species of the Underland that takes him to a rich jungle land full of carnivorous plants, giant rampaging, and a mystery or two from Gregor's previously unknown past... And it doesn't help that the rats have come to believe that one of their prophecies is to murder his baby sister, Boots...

GREGOR AND THE MARKS OF THE SECRET:BOOK FOUR IN THE UNDERLAND CHRONICLES

Gregor's mother falls ill with the plague and remains bedridden in Regalia while the rest of Gregor's family finds themselves in increasingly dire straights with jobs, no money, and part of the family ill will a mysterious plague from the Underland. Gregor also finds himself running out of excuses why he's missed so much school... Only a friendly neighbor keeps his family fed, but who knows for how much longer a kindly old woman can hold down the fort... And meanwhile, the prophetic rat known as "The Bane" has grown increasingly massive and increasingly aware of his capacity to wreak dissent and destruction in the rat kingdom. the next thing Gregor knows, "The Bane" nearly kills him in an ambush and the human-allied mice kingdom of the nibblers has mysteriously disappeared. Gregor also finds himself growing, maturing, and finding himself attracted to Luxa, a princess of the Underland... Gregor struggles to survive in an Overland and an Underland in The Marks of the Secret...

GREGOR AND THE CODE OF CLAW:BOOK FIVE IN THE UNDERLAND CHRONICLES

In the climactic finale of the Gregor the Overlander series, the Underland finally comes to full-fledged war with the rats and their allies aligning against the humans and theirs. Another of the half-mad riddle-prophecies of Bartholomew of Sandwich, the Prophecy of Time. It says that both the Bane and the Warrior will die, and that the Underlanders must break the cipher called the Code of Claw in order for humanity to survive. Gregor's attraction and consequent relationship to Luxa, a princess and the future queen of the Underland, increases as Gregor struggles to save his family, the humans of Regalia, and the entire Underland...

Great books! I highly recommend them to any fantasy lover and especially to yonger readers and those adults who still love childhood imagination!

Have a great Monday!

Shalom,Maksim-Smelchak.

Notes regarding photos / pictures / videos: These are not all my images and videos. I am using various images and videos from around the web, mostly from public sources and/or private sources used with permission. I have tried to include only images and videos under public domain, creative commons, or fair use. If I have inadvertently violated any copyrights, please inform me and I will remove your image/s (if it is indeed an infringement).

Friday, September 21, 2007

PERSONAL NEWS: G'mar Chatima Tovah 5768!

.Hi All,

G'mar Chatima Tovah!

The Jewish holidays are such that "when they rain, they pour"... and Rosh Hoshanah and Yom Kippur are, by design, very close together. I'm keeping this post brief since I'm getting myself in the right frame of mind to properly clear my mind and face the year fresh. And as a side note, for those who may not know, G'mar Chatima Tovah! literally means something like "May you finish well and with blessings"... not a perfect translation, but I'm not so much a perfect translator. It's most often translated as: "may you be sealed in the book of life."

And a quick few reminders to myself about what Yom Kippur is about thanks to the Hillel Foundation:

Yom Kippur is a holiday that raises many questions. Numerous rituals, prayers, and themes are unique to this holiest day of the Jewish year. This fact sheet will provide an introduction to the practices of Yom Kippur.

- Yom Kippur is one of the most widely observed holidays on the Jewish calendar.

- Yom Kippur marks the highest synagogue attendance rate of any other day in the year.

- Yom Kippur, the 10th of Tishrei, is the day that Moses came down from Sinai with the second set of the tablets of the Ten Commandments, to replace the original set that he broke upon witnessing the children of Israel worshipping the Golden Calf.

- On Yom Kippur, it's traditional not to wear gold or other jewelry so as not to remind G-d of the sin of the Golden Calf.

- Yom Kippur is the only day where a tallit, the four cornered prayer shawl with fringes that symbolize the 613 commandments, is worn in the evening.

- Kol Nidrei(meaning "our vows"), the service on the eve of Yom Kippur, is a communal supplication asking G-d to view all vows made under duress as null and void.

- In Biblical and Rabbinic times, Temple rituals and sacrifices were the focus of the holiday. Among the highlights of the day was the scapegoat ceremony during which lots would be placed on two goats. One goat would be offered as a sacrifice in the Temple, in the Holy of Holies; and the second would be thrown into the wilderness. Once the Temples were destroyed, prayer and return, i.e. repentance, are the focus while the Temple ritual is recounted as part of the Yom Kippur liturgy.

- Today, in addition to the traditional three prayer services (morning, afternoon, and evening), Yom Kippur includes a special Musaf(additional) service, Yizkor (memorial service), the Avodah service (a symbolic reenactment of the ancient priestly ritual for Yom Kippur), Viddui(the communal confession of sin), and Neiliah (the concluding service).

- During the afternoon service, we read the story of Jonah and the whale.

- During the Viddui, the communal confession of sin, it is customary to beat one's chest.

- The Neiliah service marks the end of Yom Kippur and concludes with the blowing of the shofar, a sign of redemption.

- It is said, "On Rosh Hashana, it is written. On Yom Kippur, it is sealed." Thus, the traditional Yom Kippur salutation is "G'mar Tov"(finish well) or "G'mar Chatima Tova"(may you be sealed in the book of life).

May we all be sealed in the Book of Life and have a year of peace, prosperity, unity and wisdom.

Shalom,Maksim-Smelchak.

Notes regarding photos / pictures / videos: These are not all my images and videos. I am using various images and videos from around the web, mostly from public sources and/or private sources used with permission. I have tried to include only images and videos under public domain, creative commons, or fair use. If I have inadvertently violated any copyrights, please inform me and I will remove your image/s (if it is indeed an infringement).

Thursday, September 20, 2007

TOP: This Grand Imperial Theater features three seating levels......a stage screen, and a fiber-optic star field.

Hi All,

I'm undoubtedly a Geek, and, at that, a blasted big Geek, but... every time I think I'm a hopeless fanboy of the multiple shades of Geekness known by such appellations as Battlestar Galactica, Robotech, Star Trek, Traveller, and, of course, Star Wars... I get a rude awakening! Here's an excerpt written about the Geekiest Star Wars home theatre I've EVER seen (...and that includes the previously shown Star Wars sub woofer shaped like the Deathstar):

Designing a Death Star Theater

Three separate rooms, one star field, and a life-sized Han Solo are just a few of the things that help two super "Star Wars" fans get their geek on in this theater.

A long time ago in a home theater far, far away—well, outside of Seattle anyway—began one of the greatest “Star Wars” spectacles to ever exist outside the doors of Comic-Con.

Super-fans Vic Wertz and Lisa Stevens used to run the Official Star Wars Fan Club and even the “Star Wars Insider” magazine. But even though they’re both out of that business now, they still pay homage to their dark lord and master each and every day—thanks to their incredibly impressive and geeky home theater.

Darth Vader wouldn’t call in an Ewok to do his dirty work, and neither did this couple. Instead they recruited Doug Chiang, the lead designer on “Star Wars: Episode I—The Phantom Menace” and “Star Wars: Episode II—Attack of the Clones.”Stevens met him during her days at another game company,Wizards of the Coast. “When we decided to do this project, I wanted to make sure I had the right designer, and he was at the top of the list,” says Wertz. Sure, but was he gettable? “He was pretty busy at the time, so it almost didn’t happen, but at the last minute, he was able to schedule a block of time for the designs.”

Three designs later, the couple brought in Mike Dillon and his custom design and fabrication company, Dillon Works, to do the icing on the cake. “We can design and fabricate just about anything,” he says. And he wasn’t kidding.

“It ended up being the control deck of the Death Star,” says Eric Ward, custom sales manager at Definitive Audio. The Bellevue, Wash.-based installation company was responsible for all of the audio and video for this 36-month project...

And I threw in the above "Jedi's Last Supper" graphic even though it's old news and has been floating around the 'Net for the Lord only knows how long... As far as the question goes, I think that the Judas of Star Wars is obvious... don't you?

*** Who do you think the Judas of Star Wars is? ***

If you'd care to share, please share your Judas in the comments section of this post.

Notes regarding photos / pictures / videos: These are not all my images and videos. I am using various images and videos from around the web, mostly from public sources and/or private sources used with permission. I have tried to include only images and videos under public domain, creative commons, or fair use. If I have inadvertently violated any copyrights, please inform me and I will remove your image/s (if it is indeed an infringement).

Wednesday, September 19, 2007

COOL STUFF: Talk Like a Pirate Day 2007!

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TOP: Raise the ol' Skull & Crossbones!

It be the day!

Ahoy Mateys,

Avast me hearties...

Ye best be rememberin that 19 September is thee annual Talk Like a Pirate Day!

So's wherever ye are--at port, or out ta sea, or in the dungeon, don't ferget ta use yer best pirate voice at all times, or ye may end up tied to the yard arm, or in Davie Jone's locker at the bottum of da briney sea.

Notes regarding photos / pictures / videos: These are not all my images and videos. I am using various images and videos from around the web, mostly from public sources and/or private sources used with permission. I have tried to include only images and videos under public domain, creative commons, or fair use. If I have inadvertently violated any copyrights, please inform me and I will remove your image/s (if it is indeed an infringement).

Tuesday, September 18, 2007

FILMS: "Armageddon"... Not Quite Bust'in Up The Planet...

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TOP: Armageddon, saving the world...

...from spiky steaming turd-shaped asteroids.

Hi All,

I tend to not be the most avid movie-goer... and I finally caught up to Armageddon, a 1998 "oldie & moldie" starring Bruce Willis and unfortunately featuring Ben "Wuss-boy" Affleck. The basic premise of the movie is that a giant asteroid is discovered hurdling towards the Earth on a collision path that will bring about an apocalyptic "planet killer" event like many scientists theorize ended the reign of the dinosaurs. And, of course, the only person who can save us is a burly oil driller played by Bruce Willis and his team of fellow "roughneck" drillers including the ever-annoying Ben Affleck. Billy Bob Thornton, puts in a good performance as a NASA administrator... and Liv Tyler acts pouty and annoying... as well as hot as is her prime talent.

TOP: The asteroid is spikey and Hollywood-set-looking...

The "Roughnecks" are played by a host of Hollywood "2nd stringers" including quite a few of them who have made their way into "leading man" roles almost a decade later. Among the better-known "Roughnecks":

Steve Buscemi: How this bug-eyed guy makes it in Hollywood is almost beyond me until I remembered that he has an excellent sense of comedic timing... and he doesn't fail in this flick with his comedic talents. Despite specializing in playing sleezeballs, he's likable and ends up both surviving the mission and being rewarded Hollywood-style with a trophy wife who just happens to be a stripper named "Molly Mounds." Only in Hollywood...

Michael Clark Duncan: This guy has become best-known for his role as the giant possessed black guy from Steven King's "The Green Mile." Despite being such a freakishly large man, he's likable as well.

William Fichtner: Will Fichtner has gone through a string of great roles including "Blackhawk Down" and the television series "Invasion." He plays a steely-faced Air Force colonel... pretty much his archetypal character. He will be playing a supporting role in the upcoming movie adaptation of the classic graphic novel "The Dark Knight."

Will Patton: Will Patton has gone onto to many "leading man" roles including as the coach in the very likable 2000 flick "Remember The Titans." His "down-South" accent give him a certain charisma...

Peter Stormare: Best-known for playing a crazy murderous nut in "Fargo," Peter Stormare plays a really stereotypical Russian cosmonaut in Armageddon. I can't blame him since the director undoubtedly wanted him to play such a lousy two-dimensional character. If the Soviet Union had really wanted to win the Cold War bad enough, they should have come up with a "Communist Hollywood" so they could make NASA look bad... although the whole "American cowboy" stereotype has persisted well enough...

Owen Wilson: Owen Wilson as just a pup back in 1998 and it shows because they knock off his character early in the film. He went on to make a number of bad comedies including several with Jackie Chan.

Notes regarding photos / pictures / videos: These are not all my images and videos. I am using various images and videos from around the web, mostly from public sources and/or private sources used with permission. I have tried to include only images and videos under public domain, creative commons, or fair use. If I have inadvertently violated any copyrights, please inform me and I will remove your image/s (if it is indeed an infringement).

Monday, September 17, 2007

FUN VIDEOS: Tripod's Romantic Song...

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.Hi All,

Ever since I learned about the Ozzie musical-comedy group, Tripod, I've enjoyed the HECK out of them and that's "Heck" with a capitol "H!" This song, "Gonna Make You Happy" is one that's easy for any bonafide geek to identify with... except for maybe the "girl" part... LOL ;o) And sometimes I wonder a bit about the "girl" part myself... Unfortunately I've had an easier time with conquering the "Robots of Zergon-B" and collecting sets of "magic coins" than dealing with the opposite sex...

Notes regarding photos / pictures / videos: These are not all my images and videos. I am using various images and videos from around the web, mostly from public sources and/or private sources used with permission. I have tried to include only images and videos under public domain, creative commons, or fair use. If I have inadvertently violated any copyrights, please inform me and I will remove your image/s (if it is indeed an infringement).

Thursday, September 13, 2007

I've said it before, but fanboys (...and girls) are among the strangest people on the planet, and Star Wars fanboys are no less weird. Now, add on another even stranger breed, the "sci-fi & anime costume convention crowd" and you have a real recipe for truly astounding mutations. Dragon-Con(...mentioned in a previous post with a site link) and Comic-Con are among the most colorful of these events. And I haven't featured a "gratuitous babe" in awhile... What do you get when you mix a good-looking girl from the South with a little Star Wars funkiness?

DOLLY DEATHSTAR!

TOP: DOLLY DEATHSTAR, I wonder if she has any telekinetic Sith powers?

Or is that just natural?

TOP: DOLLY is popular with the whole crew, especially Stormtroopers!TOP: And the Deathstar maintenance crew just adores DOLLY!

I wonder if they'd share their Spoo and blue milk with her?

I have a Flickr fellow to thank for most of the photos. He goes by the monniker: "Women, Fire & Dangerous Things." Appropriate, huh?

Notes regarding photos / pictures / videos: These are not all my images and videos. I am using various images and videos from around the web, mostly from public sources and/or private sources used with permission. I have tried to include only images and videos under public domain, creative commons, or fair use. If I have inadvertently violated any copyrights, please inform me and I will remove your image/s (if it is indeed an infringement).

Notes regarding photos / pictures / videos: These are not all my images and videos. I am using various images and videos from around the web, mostly from public sources and/or private sources used with permission. I have tried to include only images and videos under public domain, creative commons, or fair use. If I have inadvertently violated any copyrights, please inform me and I will remove your image/s (if it is indeed an infringement).

COOL STUFF: Darth Mania! Part-Uno (12 September 2007)

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TOP: Darth Kitty, who could have known?

Hi All,

I've said it before, but people do the strangest things with the Star Wars franchise. One barely has to lower a stick into the radioactive pond outside the Springfield reactors to come up with some abhorent, yet strangly fascinating mutant. Darth Kitty is no different... so in tradition of P.T. Barnum, give me a nickel and I present to you the Sixth Strangest Wonder of the World:

DARTH KITTY!

TOP: Aagh! ...make it go away!

I have a Flickr fellow to thank for the photos who goes by the monniker: "Women, Fire & Dangerous Things." Appropriate, huh?

Notes regarding photos / pictures / videos: These are not all my images and videos. I am using various images and videos from around the web, mostly from public sources and/or private sources used with permission. I have tried to include only images and videos under public domain, creative commons, or fair use. If I have inadvertently violated any copyrights, please inform me and I will remove your image/s (if it is indeed an infringement).

Tuesday, September 11, 2007

HASBARA: Remembering 9/11 In 2007.

.TOP: Firefighters raising Old Glory at the scene of the attacks.

Hi All,

Today is a monumental date, one which should live on in the minds of all Americans and even of all people opposed to living under the oppression of dictatorships and the random indiscriminate violence of Terrorism and Jihadism. Today is 9/11. The single worst attack on the United States in world history. A watershed. A day of infamy. A day which will be discussed by those who remember and those who seek to forget for the rest of our lives. The "Pearl Harbor" of my generation.

TOP: Old Glory at the Pentagon unfurled the day after the attacks.

Here's my story:

Like many, I remember exactly where I was when 9/11 hit us... teaching fourth grade at elementary school. I'd arrived early to correct some papers and hang out with the lead teacher in my room. At the time, I was a student teacher and taught about half the day, but under the direction of a lead teacher, a guy named Brad who's a good man. It was Brad's habit to turn on the news in the morning as we reviewed our plans, corrected papers, and otherwise prepped for the day. And everyone knew Brad's habit and habitually stopped by to visit, shoot the breeze and maybe catch a little news. So, there we were correcting papers, conducting school teacher business, and just chatting amicably when the television screen flashed with that footage that we all remember... an airplane hitting a building. The room went nearly dead silent with only the sound of a red correction pencil hitting the floor breaking that silence.

And we sat and stood there for an indeterminate amount of time... just watching and taking in what happened. The students started coming in and immediately sat down and watched along with us, not understanding what was going on, but understanding that their teacher's silent behavior was serious. I don't don't know how long we sat there watching... it must have been a few hours... but none could tell how long... The attendance collector didn't come by, there were no overhead announcements, recess was forgotten (...I don't even remember the bell), in fact, other teachers and students had come into the room and sat or stood with us quietly. It was long enough to see the second plane hit though... and that was when we all woke up. The students and teachers from other rooms went back to their classrooms. We thought about trying to teach, but that wasn't going to happen. Instead we talked with the kids about what we had all seen and what it meant. After lunch, we resumed teaching, but it was hard. I don't think alot of school learning went on that day, but I'm sure some deeper lessons took hold. I know; I've run into some of those students since.

I don't know any other way to say it, but to say it outright:

Don't forget 9/11.

I'm going to share some of the articles I've found meaningful on this anniversary of 9/11.

Excerpt: This 9/11 memorial post is a compilation of commentary, news reports, eyewitness accounts and pictures not only from that day, but from the past five years as the nation has recovered from the most deadly attack on U.S. soil in the country's history.

COMMENTARY:Over the past six years, millions of words have been written about the terrorist attacks of September 11. Below is a sampling from each of the past five anniversaries. I will be adding links to additional commentary from today's anniversary throughout the day...

Excerpt: 9/11. Of course you remember where you were. That day was a summons, a call; many answered it, in many different ways. Our team is here because of it. In all probability, so are you.

This September 11th we honour those who answered that call, and those who answer it still. Amidst the clamour and tumult of all the 9/11 related posts and articles over the past 4 years, some stand out and speak more truly to the essence of that dark day - and the challenges that lie before us still.

All of us are called on define the parts we play, and the exchanges we will make. What part will you play? "Ah," you say, "but I'm not a writer, or a hero." Funny, but I've got a few people in here who would have said the very same thing...

Excerpt: The people who did this to us are monsters; the people who cheered them have hate-sickened minds. One reason they can cheer is that they know we would never do to them what their heroes did to us, even though we could, a thousand times worse. They know that when we hunt down the monsters, we will try hard not to harm the innocent. Those are the handcuffs we willingly wear, because for all our flaws, we are a decent people...

Excerpt: Even if you wanted to forget what day it was, you couldn't. When you write a check or plan a meeting, there it is — printed on the calendar, encoded in time.

You might forget the date Hiroshima was bombed or Kennedy was shot. You can't forget Sept. 11, the date that shares its name with the catastrophe of 2001.

Is that beginning to change, even as the war the attacks helped to inspire drags on in Iraq?

Tuesday's sixth anniversary of the terrorist attacks that killed almost 3,000 people is unlikely to pack the same emotional clout, generate the same media attention or command the same public focus as the fifth anniversary...

And an article and a few links to reminders as to why we need, as a society, to confront Jihadism and the greater epidemic of terrorism head on:

Excerpt: Given that war, as both Sun Tzu and Mohammed preached, is deception, it behooves us to understand accurately the enemy’s motivations and not be fooled by his deceiving propaganda. Yet in the current war against Islamic jihad, the West has stubbornly refused to take seriously what the jihadists tell us, believing instead what Thucydides called the “pretexts” with which an enemy rationalizes his aggression. Osama bin Laden and his theorist Aymin al Zawahiri in particular have provided us with numerous texts outlining the Islamic foundations of their war against the West. A few of these pronouncements and manifestoes have long been available, but now thanks to Raymond Ibrahim’s The Al Qaeda Reader, writings previously unavailable in English can be studied and analyzed. Such study will provide powerful evidence that contrary to the deceptions of apologists and the naïve delusions of some Westerners, the bases of the jihadists’ actions lie squarely within Islamic tradition, not in the alleged Western crimes against Islam...

* For more words from the society from which the 9/11 attackers came, please consult these translated videos of actual media reports from across the Middle East:http://www.memri.org/

* And the below story ought to be required reading for those who think that terrorism can be ignored and that Jihadism will only poison the Middle East if we just leave it alone:(Hat tip to Joe Katzman)Today's required reading: I'd argue that it's science fiction author Dan Simmons' story "The Time Traveler" - and its follow-up.

It still stands out in my mind the exact thoughts that went through my mind I watched those early report from 9/11. And my resolve to not just stand by and look the other way still burns deeply. I will continue to support the fight against the murderers of 9/11 through my words, my voting, my donations, and whatever other forms of support and action I can. I encourage you, my reader, to do the same.

Please don't forget 9/11.

Shalom,Maksim-Smelchak.

Notes regarding photos / pictures / videos: These are not all my images and videos. I am using various images and videos from around the web, mostly from public sources and/or private sources used with permission. I have tried to include only images and videos under public domain, creative commons, or fair use. If I have inadvertently violated any copyrights, please inform me and I will remove your image/s (if it is indeed an infringement).

COOL STUFF: A Space Marine On a Day Off!

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TOP: What do Space Marines do for a hobby?

Hi All,

I've long been a big fan of GW's Space Marine game, which has gone under so many different names: Adeptus Titanicus, Titan Legions, Epic-40k, Epic-Armageddon, Net-Epic and many others. And one of the strange little joys has been to see all of the non-Epic uses that the tiny 6mm Epic sci-fi figures see... The above photo is one of the latest and coolest uses of 6mm Epic figures I've seen... a huge 54mm Space Marine painting the tiny 6mm guys as a hobby. Other non-Epic uses I've seen have been in a travel version of the Space Hulk game and as chess pieces being used by giant 54mm Space Marines. All I can say is that I love the things that such non-Epic uses of Epic pieces do for my imagination.

And, in other news, I am thinking about updating my Blog pretty soon with a major face lift. Among the changes will be a new template with easier to read writing. I've received alot of feedback about it. And I may just be cutting back a bit as well... work is hitting me hard and I'm feeling quite a bit of burn out about my hobby. I need to find some inspiration soon. On the other hand, I'm having a great time building my 28mm undead hordes and had a huge victory at the last WHFB(Warhammer Fantasy Battles) game I played... a massacre of the other guy so I must be doing something right... it sure isn't my cruddy dice rolling! I also picked up a small bag of used 28mm undead miniatures (...some skeletal cavalry, ghosts, wights, skeletal bowmen & crossbowmen, a Black Coach, a few tombstones, some dead trees, a mausoleum, a banshee or two, etc.) at the ConQuest San Francisco 2007 flea market... can't wait to include those gnarly numbers into my undead hordes.

And my question to my readers is twofold:

*** 1. Do you think that updating my Blog would be a good idea? Any preferences? ***

*** 2. What do you do to get inspired when you're feeling burnt out on the hobby? ***

Have a great Tuesday!

Shalom,Maksim-Smelchak.

Notes regarding photos / pictures / videos: These are not all my images and videos. I am using various images and videos from around the web, mostly from public sources and/or private sources used with permission. I have tried to include only images and videos under public domain, creative commons, or fair use. If I have inadvertently violated any copyrights, please inform me and I will remove your image/s (if it is indeed an infringement).

Monday, September 10, 2007

FILMS: Robotech To Come To The Big Screen?

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TOP: A video with the Robotech animated series intro.

Hi All,

Last week, I was out of town at training and read about a forthcoming Robotech movie from several sources: TMP, Marc Vezina's blog, Yahoo News, among other sources. I didn't have the time to Blog about it then, but I do now. Being that I'm a major Robotech / Macross fan, I'm excited about the possibility of a Robotech movie... even if Hollywood does it. Here's an excerpt from the Yahoo News article:

TOP: Robotech, THE serial sci-fi cartoon of the 1980s!

...After a lengthy negotiation, Warner Bros. Pictures has picked up feature rights to "Robotech," a 1980s Japanese cartoon series with giant robots known as mechas.Maguire is eyeing the lead role, and will serve as a producer.

"We are very excited to bring 'Robotech' to the big screen," Maguire said. "There is a rich mythology that will be a great foundation for a sophisticated, smart and entertaining film."

A sprawling sci-fi epic, "Robotech" takes place at a time when Earth has developed giant robots from the technology on an alien spacecraft that crashed on a South Pacific isle. Mankind is forced to use the technology to fend off three successive waves of alien invasions. The first invasion concerns a battle with a race of giant warriors who seek to retrieve their flagship's energy source known as "protoculture," and the planet's survival ends up in the hands of two young pilots.

The $686 million worldwide box office success of "Transformers" has inspired other studios to assemble giant robot movies. Last month, Fox-based Regency picked up 1980s Japanese anime series "Voltron."

- Reuters/Hollywood Reporter

In a few word, Robotech has been a major cultural icon... it could be argued that the animated series Robotech and the feature film Akira almost singlehandedly established Japanese animation or anime in the American consciousness. I know that as a younger person, my friends and I religiously watched Robotech... sometimes several times a day if we could. And it wasn't just young people who enjoyed it, I remember a number of adults, some of them "very mature"(...meaning old!) adults who enjoyed the series right alongside us.

Robotech ran in three major series representing different chronological periods in the Robotech universe:

1. Macross(Humans first encounter aliens and alien technology culminating in an epic final battle.)2. Southern Cross(The human survivors of the final battle reorganize and continue the battle in a war-torn Earth.)3. Mospedia(In an apocalyptic war-torn Earth, the survivors of the conflict discover new truths about the aliens and, of course, save the PLANET!)

It was tough to say which one was the best because we liked them all. What I can definitively say is that all three Robotech series were tremendously popular and inspired many animated offshoots and games. The incredibly popular Battledroids game, which later morphed into Battletech became a fond part of my gaming experience in the 1980s and is still doing well today... even after Battletech's parent company, FASA, went out of business. I was a major Battletech junkie and even played in a Palladium Robotech RPG campaign that lasted nearly a year....

Now, about the upcoming movie, I'm excited but also apprehensive. Hollywood can screw up any good story if you give them a chance and I see Robotech as no less vulnerable a license. I sure hope they don't try to cram all three story lines into one film. Tobey Maguire as a director, actor or producer hasn't been very inspiring in my opinion, but as one TMP poster mentioned, Rick Hunter(the Robotech lead character), has always been a "tool" so it's hard to imagine that Maguire couldn't play a "tool" well. Maguire did a fine job of "wussify-ing" Spiderman. The "Transformers" movie wasn't bad... I enjoyed quite a bit of it. I'm not sure about "Voltron," but I hope they don't decide to try to bring the "Thundercats" to the big screen. I could deal with "Star Blazers" though and we already know that "Speed Racer" is impending... Now, if only they could resurrect some of the old "big hair" bands without denaturing them...

And lastly, I have to show this awesome costume, which a Flickr photo album user, Varjohaltia, kindly let me share here on the 'ol blog. It's an actual Robotech Cyclone armor costume worn at DragonCon 2007. Every geek should be jealous of that piece of art!

And most of the Robotech animated series is now available on DVD for those who are interested. I'm planning to eventually acquire a copy... And I loved the Robotech: Battlecry video game on my nephew's video game console. Go Robotech!

Have a great Monday!

Shalom,

Maksim-Smelchak.

Notes regarding photos / pictures / videos: These are not all my images and videos. I am using various images and videos from around the web, mostly from public sources and/or private sources used with permission. I have tried to include only images and videos under public domain, creative commons, or fair use. If I have inadvertently violated any copyrights, please inform me and I will remove your image/s (if it is indeed an infringement).

Sunday, September 09, 2007

NOVELS: "A Wrinkle In Time" Moves On...

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TOP: Madeleine L'Engle, may you rest in peace.

Hi All,

I just read some sad news in the NY Times:

Madeleine L’Engle, an author whose childhood fables, religious meditations and fanciful science fiction transcended both genre and generation, most memorably in her children’s classic “A Wrinkle in Time,” died on Thursday in Litchfield, Conn. She was 88.

Her death was announced yesterday by her publisher, Farrar, Straus & Giroux. A spokeswoman said Ms. L’Engle (pronounced LENG-el) had died of natural causes at a nursing home, which she entered three years ago. Before then the author had maintained homes in Manhattan and Goshen, Conn.

“A Wrinkle in Time” was rejected by 26 publishers before editors at Farrar, Straus & Giroux read it and enthusiastically accepted it. It proved to be her masterpiece, winning the John Newbery Medal as the best children’s book of 1963 and selling, so far, eight million copies. It is now in its 69th printing.

In the Dictionary of Literary Biography, Marygail G. Parker notes “a peculiar splendor” in Ms. L’Engle’s oeuvre, and some of that splendor is owed to sheer literary range. Her works included poetry, plays, autobiography and books on prayer, and almost all were deeply, quixotically personal.

But it was in her vivid children’s characters that readers most clearly glimpsed her passionate search for answers to the questions that mattered most. She sometimes spoke of her writing as if she were taking dictation from her subconscious.

“Of course I’m Meg,” Ms. L’Engle said about the beloved protagonist of “A Wrinkle in Time.”

The St. James Guide to Children’s Writers called Ms. L’Engle “one of the truly important writers of juvenile fiction in recent decades.” Such accolades did not come from pulling punches. “Wrinkle” has been one of the most banned books in the United States, accused by religious conservatives of offering an inaccurate portrayal of God and nurturing in the young an unholy belief in myth and fantasy.

Ms. L’Engle, who often wrote about her Christian faith, was taken aback by the attacks. “It seems people are willing to damn the book without reading it,” Ms. L’Engle said in an interview with The New York Times in 2001. “Nonsense about witchcraft and fantasy. First I felt horror, then anger, and finally I said, ‘Ah, the hell with it.’ It’s great publicity, really.”

TOP: One of the many covers of “A Wrinkle in Time.”

The book begins, “It was a dark and stormy night,” repeating the line of a 19th-century novelist, Edward George Bulwer-Lytton. “Wrinkle” then takes off. Meg Murray, with help from her psychic baby brother, uses time travel and extrasensory perception to rescue her father, a gifted scientist, from a planet controlled by the Dark Thing. She does so through the power of love.

The book uses concepts that Ms. L’Engle said she had plucked from Einstein’s theory of relativity and Planck’s quantum theory, almost flaunting her frequent assertion that children’s literature is literature too difficult for adults to understand.

“Wrinkle” is part of Ms. L’Engle’s Time series of children’s books, which includes “A Wind in the Door,” “A Swiftly Tilting Planet,” “Many Waters” and “An Acceptable Time.” The series combines elements of science fiction with insights into love and moral purpose.

...(article continued at link below).

Madeleine L'Engle has been one of my favorite writers for years... one of the children's literature writers who really sparked my imagination as a child and helped me make a choice that I still stand by to this day: I'd rather read than watch television. I strongly feel that that decision forced me to read more, use the dictionary, ask questions and otherwise ethically and intellectually develop as a human being in ways that I wouldn't have if the television had monopolized my free time as a child.

TOP: One of the earliest covers of “A Wrinkle in Time.”

As a former elementary school teacher, I loved Madeleine L'Engle's books... they're all very strange and don't keep to the mold that children's literature often comes in: plain, predictable, packaged, with simple "politically correct" moral lessons that don't promote really introspective thought. Too many children's novels these days come in a packaged "pap" form, much like most television programming, that promote the ideas of conformity and cultural relativism rather than what the NY Times wrote as thus:

The series combines elements of science fiction with insights into love and moral purpose.

And it's books that make concrete statements about values that really promote intellectual growth in my opinion, whether they question our existing beliefs or reinforce them. Books that teach conformity and the supposition that all ideas are equal do a great disservice to their reader. Some ideasare superior to others and some values are universal... or should be(Ideas like respect for life...). And part of being an well-developed human being is being able to identify one's own values and to be able to then make choices based upon those values regardless of the consequences of those choices... in other words, "to do the right thing."

I can't recommend Madeleine L'Engle's books enough... If you haven't read any of her writing, go out to your local library and check out a copy of a L'Engle... I don't think that you'll be disappointed.

Have a great Sunday!

Shalom,Maksim-Smelchak.

Notes regarding photos / pictures / videos: These are not all my images and videos. I am using various images and videos from around the web, mostly from public sources and/or private sources used with permission. I have tried to include only images and videos under public domain, creative commons, or fair use. If I have inadvertently violated any copyrights, please inform me and I will remove your image/s (if it is indeed an infringement).